The young woman who rode alone around the world on an old BMW motorcycle

In 1982, while most 23-year-old architecture students in London were worrying about their final portfolios, Elspeth Beard was busy packing a tent and a few tools onto a secondhand 1974 BMW R60/6. She wasn’t just going for a weekend blast through the Cotswolds; she was heading east with the intention of circling the entire globe.

Make it Easy with Milwaukee

 

Let me be upfront with you all right now. I’ve never owned a Milwaukee tool, but I sure have dreamed of it. 

Tool guys will know the famous American brand that garners a partisan following, just like cars. You’re either a Ford, GM or Chrysler guy, and so it is with high-end power tools. 

Zeta Motor Cars: A Forgotten Piece of Australian Automotive History

Zeta display at the National Motor Museum, Birdwood (Photo: Roderick Eime)

In the early 1960s, a small Adelaide-based company, Lightburn & Co., attempted to shake up the Australian automotive scene with the introduction of the Zeta motor car. Produced from 1963 to 1965, the Zeta was a unique vehicle with a fiberglass body and a range of innovative features.

Collectors & Hoarders: Fabulous motorcycle collections or junk piles?

It's great to see in print a story I have been working on quite literally for years. 

I've admired many motorcycle collections over the years, and you'd be amazed at how many there are. Some are pristine, museum-quality; others are, well, just fancy parts bins. 

After years of touring the country, here is a selection of museums and collections you can visit and make up your own mind. Out now in Australian Motorcycle News.

The 2025 International MotorXpo Hong Kong and Tokyo Auto Salon

 The International MotorXpo Hong Kong and the Tokyo Auto Salon are two of Asia’s most compelling automotive showcases, each reflecting a different face of car culture yet sharing a single purpose: to thrill, inspire and set trends. MotorXpo Hong Kong has evolved into a cosmopolitan display of premium mobility and boutique engineering, while the Tokyo Auto Salon remains the incandescent heart of Japanese tuning — raw, inventive and unapologetically loud.